About 3400 cars had been caught speeding in the newly opened Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) in the last 6 days due to the installation of highly accurate digital cameras - the first of its kind here - that do not run out of films and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365/6 days a year!

There is an apparent speed limit of 70 km/h in the tunnel - something that a lot of motorists do not know. In addition, there was no warning of any speed camera present in the tunnel. Vehicles were caught to be travelling as fast as 140 km/h (If you ask me, I think he’s a goner). Of these 3,400 vehicles, 45 were caught to be travelling faster then 110 km/h.

Speeding in Singapore carries a fine of between $150 to $200 (or more?) and demerit points of 4 to 8 points. Speedsters may also be fined up to $1000 or jailed up to 3 months.

Mr Alvin Tan, a company vice-president, mentioned that he didn’t observe any signs or warnings of a speed cameras - a usual practice for the traffic police to warn vehicles to keep to the speed limit, and felt that it was a form of entrapment if it was such. However, forgetitlah from the straitstimes.com forum felt that speeding means speeding and it doesn’t matter if there were any warnings.

There were also various response to the news in the forum. cc1034 was asking if this was a quick and dirty way to cover the cost of building the tunnel, while akdw concurred with him.

Frankly, I also didn’t know of the installation of speed cameras in the KPE, but from the tone of the article, the authorities seemed to be quite proud of it. Of course, this is just a personal, subjective feeling.

Update: According to sources on the Internet and straitstimes.com, there is indeed a speed limit and speed camera sign in the tunnel as shown below.

So there *is* a speed limit sign and speed camera sign. However, whether the motorists took notice of it is an entirely different story. After all, “motorists are supposed to observe the speed limits on all roads”.

NEARLY 3,400 vehicles were caught exceeding the 70kmh speed limit in the underground Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) in the first six days of its opening.

Of the lot, 45 cases exceeded 110kmh, and one vehicle - a sedan - was clocked crossing 140kmh.

Their owners will be receiving either warning letters or summonses from the Traffic Police.

The number of speedsters caught works out to a daily average of 563 - more than four times the number of speeding cases islandwide per day.

This is partly because the tunnels have highly accurate digital laser cameras - the first of their kind used here. They never run out of film like the old models used on other expressways. And they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike policemen carrying laser cameras.

The other reason for the inordinately large number of cases is that some motorists are still unaware of the new tunnels’ 70kmh limit.

Photographer Bryan Van Der Beek, 31, who reckoned he might have gone faster than 70kmh, said: ‘I honestly didn’t see any sign, maybe because I was looking at the tunnel itself. It was my first time driving through it.”

Alvin Tan, 40, a company vice-president, said he did not see any signs warning of the presence of speed cameras. ‘If the cameras are hidden and there are no signs, it’s entrapment,” he said.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 2nd November 2007; all pictures copyrights of straitstimes.com and their respective sources

I was meeting my friend for dinner, who was early and queueing up at the eternally long New York, New York Restaurant at Citylink Mall, when she pointed out that there were models in the “box”. The first thing that came to my mind was the event that was held the week before about using ST701 for their services and not having to literally leave your house. So they had Miss Singapore World 2006 Colleen Francisca to stay in a glass home for about a week - just to prove that ST701 can provide for everything.

Well, today was slightly different. The models weren’t there to showcase any services, but rather, for Canon’s new range of cameras and printers. Being the kaypoh Singaporean that I am, I went up to one of the “boxes” and gestured to the models that I’d be taking a picture of them. However, as I wasn’t using a Canon camera, but my O2 Zinc (which I am still trying to sell), they seemed to give me the cold shoulder. Sigh.

Anyway, it’s interesting that companies are using live models as opposed to mannequins. I guess it isn’t cheap to hire them to stay in the box for x hours, but I think it’s a rather novel way of doing things - at least in Singapore. However, I do pity the models who have to stay in the boxes. The good thing is that, there are at least 2 in each box, so time should pass quite fast.

I’m not sure if it’s an effective way though because I didn’t notice them until my friend pointed them out to me. Haha… I guess I was too preoccupied figuring out what to eat. Haha… more on that later. =)

Ok, probably not in the real sense, but I came across this article that talks about one of the possible side effects of a popular sleeping pill - Stilnox. When I was working at a dispensary, Stilnox was given to patients who had acute insomnia, and is usually given when Valium no longer works for them. Stilnox is this small rounded rectangular pill that is usually given in tabs and names of recipients of this drug are usually recorded for stock-take purposes.

Just in case you feel that this is discrimination, users of Dhasedyl - a popular and addictive cough medicine, also have their names recorded! Haha…

Anyway, back to this drug, users of this drug apparently display unusual sleeping behaviour, such as walking while sleeping or doing other things, and according to the article, “patients were reported to have eaten, made phone calls, shopped online and even driven their cars while asleep after taking the drug. Here, patients have been known to have sleepwalked, cooked and even had sex while asleep, and suffered from amnesia after taking it. None of them could recall doing these things upon awakening”.

I am fine with people sleepwalking - but to make phone calls, shop online or even drive their cars? This is a little uncanny. How do you drive your car while asleep anyway? Can you even get past the entrance of the carpark (or driveway)? However, the most bohua thing to occur is… to have sex while asleep! Hmm… like that also can?

USERS of sleeping pill Stilnox, be warned: The drug may help you sleep, but it may also cause you to walk or do other things while asleep.

Unusual sleep behaviour while on the drug is rare, but enough cases have been reported worldwide - including five here - to warrant a warning on the drug’s packaging. Overdosing on it, or taking it with alcohol, appears to increase the risk of these effects.

Stilnox manufacturer Sanofi-aventis, a French pharmaceutical company, has submitted its revised labelling to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), which is reviewing it.

Sanofi-aventis has already included similar warnings on the packaging for Imovane, another sleeping pill it makes.

The HSA move asking for a warning to be included in the packaging follows similar moves earlier this year by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration.

In the US, patients were reported to have eaten, made phone calls, shopped online and even driven their cars while asleep after taking the drug. Here, patients have been known to have sleepwalked, cooked and even had sex while asleep, and suffered from amnesia after taking it. None of them could recall doing these things upon awakening.

The HSA said that the five patients here whose cases have come to light since March this year recovered after they stopped taking the drug.

It is probable that more than five people have experienced these side effects, since reporting to the HSA is voluntary.

The Institute of Mental Health’s pharmacy stopped dispensing the drug to its patients in April, but has since decided that its benefits outweigh the risks.

Stilnox will be back on its pharmacy shelves next month, but doctors and pharmacists will counsel patients who take it.

Dr Adrian Wang, a consultant psychiatrist at Gleneagles Medical Centre, still prescribes it as it works well, is less addictive than some other sleeping pills and has few side effects for most people.

He said: ‘It’s a rare occurrence and quite a small problem. It’s like when you drive, there’s a chance the car will crash. But if there’s a need, you’ll still drive.’

Article from straitstimes.com on 2nd November 2007 

* bohua - colloquial for doing something that is not worth the effort

I had been on the lookout for people who have had accidents, fell into the rivers, knocked down by the bus, found floating on the Singapore River and all since last week. No, I am not being morbid. It’s just that I am hoping that they can find Ryan’s body (yes, I am assuming that he’s no longer with the living) and I can move on with my life.

It’s kind of strange that my life had been revolving around someone that I hardly knew but yet, he was someone whom I handed the trust of my kittens to. Many have came up to me and asked why I left the kittens in his care. Well, it was because I was going overseas and had to leave the cats in the care of someone trustable or had experience with pets. Ryan apparently had a dog (now I don’t even know how true that is), and he was fine with looking after them for me. So, that was it. I didn’t even hand over until it was less than 12 hours before my flight departure.

Maybe I’ll do a poster for my kittens later too. 3 weeks have passed. I’m sure they have grown up a little more if they were still alive.

So… that was what happened! I was stuck in a people jam yesterday evening at Raffles Place MRT and I was wondering what went wrong. Thankfully it wasn’t because of someone jumping into the tracks again. It’s really frightening when people do so. Perhaps it might be a quick death (or perhaps not, considering that you will feel the impact as well as the feeling of the train wheels cutting off your limbs or that or being dragged on rocks for a good 10 to 15 seconds before the train grinds to a halt), but it is really scary, especially to those who are witness to the accident.

In the end, it was only a short circuit, but at least it’s only a short circuit and not something bad. Oh well, luckily I missed most of it because it was already about 7:20pm when I got to Raffles Place MRT and the service resumed. The alternative for me was… of course, to walk. Then again, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station isn’t that near either. =S

ABOUT 15,000 commuters were delayed yesterday evening when trains between the Newton and Marina Bay MRT stations were disrupted for an hour.

In an e-mail to the media, SMRT said that an electrical cable along the track at Dhoby Ghaut station had short-circuited at 6.13pm, causing the disruption.

Buses were brought in at 6.45pm to ferry commuters between the Newton and Marina Bay stations until trains started running again at 7.13pm.

SMRT said that it is investigating the cause of the incident.

Several commuters called The Straits Times to complain about being held up by the service disruption.

Sales executive Terry Lim was more forgiving.

Although he reached his Bishan flat more than 11/2 hours later than usual, the 41-year-old said:

‘All mechanical systems suffer malfunctions now and then and this is only the second time I have been affected by an interruption in train service in more than 10 years.’

Commuters who were unable to complete their journey can claim a full fare refund from the passenger service centre at any of the 51 SMRT stations within three working days.

Article from straitstimes.com on 2 November 2007